Dems raise historic sums

Jill Zuckman, Washington BureauCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Campaign officials with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York announced Sunday that she has raised a staggering $26 million for her presidential run and added $10 million from the coffers of her Senate campaign, for an unprecedented $36 million.

Although the numbers are historic for a candidate of either party, they fell short of the sky-high expectations that had developed for Clinton, a former first lady with a massive fundraising base in New York who employed her husband, President Bill Clinton, to help her beat the bushes for donations across the country.

In addition, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a relative newcomer to the national political scene, is expected to report that he has raised more than $20 million for his presidential bid during the same period, the first quarter of this year, according to three sources in and around his campaign.

Aides to former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said Sunday that he has raised more than $14 million for his campaign, doubling his first-quarter total from four years ago as he geared up to run for president in 2004.

The large amounts of money collected so far this year are unlikely to fundamentally alter the pecking order for the 2008 Democratic nomination contest. But national fundraisers said they have never before seen such intensity so early in a presidential campaign. "We have money pouring in," said one money-raiser for Obama who declined to be identified.

"I'm just astonished at that much money in the Democratic primary," said Donna Brazile, former campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 presidential bid. "We might be looking at a good $60 million for the Democrats in the first quarter."

The ability to raise substantial sums at the start of the year is often considered the first true challenge for each of the campaigns and is known as the invisible primary. That test is even more important now that voters are likely to choose a nominee early in 2008 with a new schedule of primaries bunched together on Feb. 5.

An edge for Obama?

Clinton officials acknowledged that Obama may come close to matching Clinton's fundraising prowess, although they expressed happiness with their own effort.

"We are ecstatic about where we are today," said Terry McAuliffe, Clinton's campaign chairman and the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

McAuliffe noted that, historically, "insurgent" candidates have managed to raise significant amounts of money against more established front-runners, citing Bill Bradley against Gore in 2000 and Howard Dean's use of the Internet to raise money in 2004 against Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). He said he expects Obama's fundraising to be comparable to Clinton's.

But political professionals say it is possible that Obama may exceed Clinton's take for the primary season when contributions are sorted by use for the primary or the general election. That would be a blow to Clinton, who had hoped to muscle her Democratic opponents out of the race with an overwhelming war chest.

Clinton officials refused to say how much of the $26 million she raised could be used for her primary campaign, a figure that should be readily available. The Edwards campaign said less than $1 million of its $14 million tally was strictly for the general election.

People involved in Democratic fundraising noted that many of Clinton's events required a contribution of $4,600 for access to the senator and other VIPs. That is the maximum amount allowed for an individual to donate by law, with half going for the primary and half for the general.

Obama, on the other hand, mostly sought donations of up to $2,300, which means the bulk of his take this quarter will be available for the primary campaign. Obama also made his fundraising task more difficult by refusing to accept money from lobbyists and political action committees, unlike Clinton.

"The Obama team is extremely pleased with our first-quarter results, considering the fact we've only been in business since Feb. 11, and the important thing to focus on is how much each candidate can use in the primary," said Lou Susman, a senior adviser to Obama and veteran fundraiser from Chicago. "If the Clinton money includes general funds, you really have to compare apples to apples."

The Obama campaign declined to provide its final fundraising tally, saying that contributions were still being processed. But so far, 83,531 people have made 108,095 donations to the Illinois senator.

Clinton, on the other hand, received donations from 50,000 people, while Edwards took in money from about 37,000 donors, their campaigns said.

The message, not the money

Still, each of the campaigns noted that money is not everything. Many candidates for president have raised large amounts of money but failed to excite the voters when it came time to cast a ballot.

"History has clearly indicated that having the most money is not the key to winning the nomination," said Jonathan Prince, deputy campaign manager for Edwards. "The key to winning the nomination is having enough money to communicate your message, and we have enough money to do that."

Campaign finance reports showing money raised in the first three months of the year are due at the Federal Election Commission on April 15, but campaigns disclose the numbers with differing levels of specificity ahead of time for strategic reasons. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to show he raised $6 million; Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd is expected to report raising $4 million and transferring $5 million from his Senate campaign account; and Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware is likely to report raising $4 million.

Clinton, Obama and Edwards easily surpassed the record for fundraising in the first quarter before a presidential election year, which had been held by Gore, a Democrat, who raised $8.9 million in 1999. On the Republican side, former Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas raised $8.7 million in 1995, in addition to making a sizable transfer from his Senate campaign treasury.

None of the Republican candidates divulged their fundraising totals for the quarter Sunday.